Photograph of a Jammu and Kashmir minister ‘adjusting’ the collar of a woman doctor in a government hospital has provoked sharp criticism on social media. The image has been widely circulated on Twitter, triggering a furore.
The photograph was taken when Chaudhary Lal Singh, the state health minister, had gone to a government hospital to check preparedness for the Amarnath pilgrimage, which began on Wednesday.
Singh reportedly saw the doctor and told her that her collar was not in place. Then he proceeded to adjust it.
“The minister moved towards her and said … ‘Bitiya your collar is not proper’ and corrected it himself. The doctor said nothing,” said an officer who was present at the time.
The officer said another woman doctor, on seeing the minister admonishing the doctor, adjusted her own collar. “There were lots of people. I do not think he acted inappropriately,” he remarked.
Singh, a leader of the BJP, which co-governs the state with the PDP, was lashed on Twitter for “inappropriately touching a woman.”